Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving! I know I've got readers all over the world, but every day is a good day to be thankful, right?I made us some lovely Chocolate Peppermint Bark Fudge to share for the Homemaking Party this week! I do think I'm getting the better deal here though, since I get to actually eat it and you only get to look at it! So, make yourself some this week and let me know how it turned out!Peppermint Bark is one of my favorite Christmas treats. So I thought, why not make it into fudge? Now I've got two favorite treats in one easy recipe!

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Fudge12 oz. milk chocolate chips12 oz. white chocolate chips14 oz. sweetened condensed milk1 Tb. peppermint extractred food coloringmini chocolate chips or crushed peppermint for toppingLine an 8" square pan with foil. Melt milk chocolate chips until smooth and stir in 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk. Pour into pan. Repeat steps with white chips and remaining milk. Stir in peppermint extract and pour 1/2 of white mixture on top of chocolate mixture. Stir food coloring in to remaining white mixture and pour into pan, swirling with the white. Sprinkle with mini chips or crushed peppermint and cool completely before cutting. *I put my pan into the fridge after sprinkling with the mini chips so they wouldn't melt from the heat of the cooling fudge.This fudge was featured at Boogieboard Cottage and at One More Time. Thank you!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Ready for some easy and festive Christmas finger food ideas? Even though I just got my fall decorations up two days ago, I figured I'd better start in on our Christmas planning. I'm determined to have a fun, festive, and relaxing holiday season this year! I've found a handful of yummy finger food ideas to try. Let me know if you try any of these as well!

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I'm really excited to be sharing this M&Ms coupon with you all! (Just click the image to get your $1.00 off coupon)

M&Ms are definitely a holiday tradition around here. We like to use them to decorate gingerbread houses at Christmas time. We also love to have some around when we do our daily advent calendar leading up to Christmas. After the Bible study and turning of the calendar day, Daddy hands out two green and two red M&Ms to each of us. They're fun snacks we always look forward to!Brighten your home for the holidays with red and green Gingerbread M&M's® to decorate and bring good cheer! Get your coupon today so you can deck the halls with Gingerbread-inspired holiday ideas and fill your home with joy this season. #HolidayMM

If you need some festive holiday decorating ideas check out these fun Gingerbread M&M's crafts. If you have some creative ideas of your own, participate in the Gingerbread M&M Instagram contest to win a great prize!HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Upload an original image to Instagram with inspirational ideas and creations using Gingerbread M&M's to decorate and craft during the holidays, caption that image with the hashtag #HolidayMM, and share on Twitter (an “Entry”).

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Today I'm finally decorating for Fall...again. We're all moved in to our new house in Arkansas and I've been unpacking and organizing. I'm determined to have Fall decorations up until Christmas decorating day, though, so they're going up again. God knows I like Fall so much that he gave me the opportunity to decorate for it twice this year!

The kids are loving our beautiful yard in our Ozarks town of Bella Vista. There are all kinds of things here that we've never seen before, including thousands of acorns and walnuts all over the yard!

Yesterday Lynzie gathered some and made a pretty Fall centerpiece. She's my super creative girl! You can check out her blog at Thoughts From a Young Writer.

A few years ago, in my very early Pinterest days, I made a fall centerpiece using a Christmas tray, some leaves from the Dollar Store, a glass dish, and a candle. I bought nuts from the grocery store to fill in around the candle.

Lynzie used the tray and put a pumpkin dish in the middle instead. She gathered nuts, acorns, and berries from our yard and filled in around the candle. Isn't it pretty?Now for the linkup. Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season! Have a great weekend! Hope In Every Season is on Facebook! If you like what you've read here, please follow me and keep up with the latest posts.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Woo Hoo! Looks like my couch moving days are over!It's moving week at the Coller house so I'm putting our party up a little early. We're headed to Arkansas bright and early Thursday morning!Hope everyone is having a relaxing week. I'm excited to see what you've all got to share!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

This is my first photo from Arkansas. Ha! As some of you know, we are moving from Oregon to Arkansas this coming week. Jamie and I went to AR this past weekend to find a house and see the area. I've never seen a tornado shelter sign so I thought it would be a classic "first Arkansas photo". God has blessed every stage of this journey---please pray with us that the rest would go as smoothly!

Also, make sure you enter to win a $400 gift card from Amazon! I've teamed up with some of my favorite bloggers and am so excited to offer this chance to my readers!

Now for the linkup. Please remember to return the favor by adding my button or a text link to your post. Have a great weekend!

Hope In Every Season is on Facebook! If you like what you've read here, please follow me and keep up with the latest posts.

Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for stopping by today for Make Bake Create! Jamie and I are in Arkansas today looking for a house! By the time you read this, we'll hopefully have secured one and will have 1 week to pack up and make our trip from Oregon to Arkansas. Really praying for good roads!!

Friday, November 1, 2013

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. All opinions are honest and are my own.

With the sudden news of my husband's new job and our lightning fast move to Arkansas this month, I think it's safe to say this is going to be a holiday season like no other! However, I am hoping to have the kitchen unpacked for Thanksgiving, and Lynzie and I are looking forward to checking out NW Arkansas' Black Friday deals! Every holiday season, I'm reminded of the story of Mary and Martha---well, my 21st century version, anyway. While Mary's hanging out with the guests, Martha's slaving it away in the kitchen. While it's nice to cook a great meal and make lots of fun holiday treats, I also really enjoy having something to pop in the oven quick while I spend time with the important people in my life. Nestle frozen foods help make this possible with some delicious family size selections that we all enjoy.

This past week, as we've been frantically tying up loose ends and organizing the house, I've taken advantage of some of these party-sized entrees to get a hot meal on the table without having to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I bought Stouffer's Party Size Lasagna with Meat & Sauce and Stouffer's Party Size Macaroni & Cheese. We'd never tried either of these varieties before and were super impressed. Paired with a couple of sides, the lasagna was hearty and filling, and the macaroni & cheese was an excellent base for a newly-developed recipe.

I featured this Mac & Cheese Breakfast Casserole earlier this week---check it out. My kids really enjoyed it and the recipe made a lot. I'm planning on making it again for a holiday morning breakfast. It's an excellent choice for feeding a large crowd and much of it can be prepared the night before.

As for the lasagna, I served that with veggies and my garlic cheese bread. It was one of those meals that warms you up from the inside. The sauce was flavorful---and there was lots of it!

My cheese bread is super simple to make. Just roll your bread dough into a rectangle (if you're using refrigerated dough, slice the roll down the middle but not clear through, spread it open, and roll out a bit). Then spread fresh garlic, cheese, and herbs (basil, oregano, whatever) all over it. Roll it back up and bake according to directions with the seam side down. When it's done, slice it up and enjoy!

One of the most wonderful gifts to man, in our opinion, is pizza! There are times when nothing will do but a hot, cheesy, saucy, yummy pizza. We usually buy three Digiorno Rising Crust pizzas and serve them with salad.

I think I probably serve pizza to guests more than any other meal. It's almost expected that when there are extra family members or friends in the house, pizza is on the menu! Of course, my husband often ends up taking any leftovers to work the next day---sometimes as his breakfast!

Is there a treat more wonderful than ice cream? It's debatable. I remember having ice cream together as a family when I was growing up. My parents would wait for it to go on sale and then they'd go buy several flavors. My Dad always wanted Maple Walnut, my Mom liked Butter Pecan, and my favorite was Mint Chocolate Chip. Did you know that Dreyer's has a couple of new flavors out for the holidays? I absolutely love the Peppermint Wonderland, and Jamie is looking forward to trying A Very Merry Eggnog when it hits Walmart this week. Just typing out their names makes me feel festive! I like to make my own hard shell topping to drizzle on top. Just melt down some chocolate or butterscotch chips and stir in some shortening. Once it's all melted, pour on top of your ice cream and it will instantly begin hardening!

Planning ahead for the holidays can make a huge difference in how much you and your family enjoy this short and special time. I hope each one of you has a relaxing and joy-filled holiday season!Visit Nestle for meal ideas, product information, and special offers:Nestle websiteNestle on TwitterNestle on Facebook#PlanAhead

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. All opinions are honest and are my own.

When I found out I'd have the chance to taste test naturally delicious Ocean Naturals Premium Tuna, I immediately started thinking about some creative ways to prepare it. Providing a healthy lunch for my family, while making sure I'm not always making the same kind of thing, can sometimes be a challenge. I think I nailed it this time, though!Tonight I put together these delicious Zesty Tuna Cucumber Bites with Ocean Naturals Skipjack Tuna, and was really impressed with how well they turned out. My kids are going to love these for lunch tomorrow!Zesty Tuna Cucumber Bites
6 oz. can Ocean Naturals tuna, drained1/4 c. plain yogurt1 stalk celery, chopped1 garlic clove, pressed1 TB diced pimientos1/4 tsp. oreganopinch of salt & pepper1 cucumber, slicedpaprika to garnishMix up all ingredients except the cucumber. Scoop mixture onto cucumber slices and garnish with paprika. Chill until ready to serve.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with nutritious food choices? Families like us, who are beginning to make the switch to more healthier meals, can sometimes struggle with making the healthiest decision. I really appreciate the simplicity of Ocean Naturals' three key attributes: Good, Good for You, Good for the Planet.I was really surprised by the quality of this tuna when I opened it up. I immediately noticed that there seemed to be more meat and less liquid than I am used to with other brands. In addition, the tuna looked fresh---and it looked like real fish! No stringy mush in this can! Ocean Naturals packages their tuna with a dash of salt, and nothing else but water or oil, to bring you healthy freshness without fillers or additives.Not only is Ocean Naturals tuna dolphin safe, it is also harvested using responsible methods that minimize impact to natural ecosystems. I appreciate the straightforwardness of the brand's website and their willingness to explain to us what is being put into their products.

Another thing I think is neat about this brand is that I can find out where my specific tuna came from by visiting the Ocean Naturals site and entering the code on the can. Very cool!Are you interested in trying it out for yourself? Check out the Ocean Naturals Tuna Tuesdays Facebook giveaway and enter to win a free product.Connect with Ocean Naturals online and on Facebook to keep up with the newest products and recipes. Plus, please check out our Pinterest board for more great ideas for healthy tuna treats!

I can't tell you how excited I've been to share this giveaway with my readers! My closest blogging friends and I have teamed up to bring one of our readers the ultimate in awesome holiday giveaways!We were trying to decide: should we giveaway something you can use? Something for the kitchen? And then we decided---how about cash!So here it is. The very best giveaway I've done on the blog yet! I must say, to each and every one of you, I HOPE YOU WIN!!!

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